Stable democratic Pakistan vital to US interests: CRS

Washington, May 3 : A stable, democratic and prosperous Pakistan is vital to U.S. interests, according to an updated Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on that country.

While noting that relations between Pakistan and the United States have been marked by periods of co-operation and discord, the CRS report stresses that 9/11 and its aftermath transformed bilateral ties.

The CRS report, however, says that Pakistan is still identified as a base for terrorist groups and their supporters operating in Kashmir, India, and Afghanistan, and has conducted unprecedented and largely ineffectual counter-terrorism operations in the country's western Tribal Areas.

President Bush, the report emphasises, seeks to expand bilateral trade and investment relations.

According to the Daily Times, the February 2008 parliamentary elections were relatively credible and seated a coalition opposed to Musharraf's rule.

This development has spurred the Bush administration to issue a determination that a democratically elected government had been restored in Islamabad, thus permanently removing coup-related aid sanctions.

ANI